


Lab Rat

by B_Uthoughtwrong



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Again, Agent!Reader, Alternate Universe, Exasperated Bucky Barnes, Experiment gone wrong, F/M, Fluff, Reader-Insert, Shy Steve Rogers, steve is a lab rat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24072454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Uthoughtwrong/pseuds/B_Uthoughtwrong
Summary: Steve is always one step away from confessing to you.Alwaysone step away, but when he's about to take it, he runs ten steps back. With his pal, Bucky's advice to speak up failing horribly, he decides to look for advice elsewhere. Let's just say the advice came in a what could be literally called a bottle of courage and it did not end well.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Reader
Kudos: 33





	Lab Rat

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll i've had this idea for a long time after looking at gifs of chris evans in scott pilgrim vs the world huhuhh

> _"What did you do to him?!"_

* * *

"This is bad, Tony," Bruce whined.

Tony raises his hands and shook his head, "You think _I_ don't know that? We are _so_ screwed if we get caught."

Bruce, who was worrying profoundly on the chair their test subject was on, turned to Tony after wiping his face, _"get caught?_ **That's** what you're worried about?"

Tony pulls a face, "no! Of course I'm worried about Steve too!"

"Tony, Steve just took an experimental medication and jumped out of a window from the 27th floor! And that's not the worst part about it! We don't know how it'll effect him. But with what happened just now, he's definitely a hostile entity!"

Tony watched as Bruce's temper started to spike. He placed a hand on his shoulder and circled his hands, "It's okay, Banner. Just take a breath and calm yourself."

Bruce and Tony did a a few breathing exercises. Tony nodded in approval, "right. It'll be lickity-split. I'll suit up and find him. He can't have gone fa--"

"Tony? Bruce?" I called.

The said two snapped their head to the direction of the door. They both panicked and tried to clean up the mess that was made due to their failed test. Bruce managed to kick back a few shards of broken glass by the time the door was opened.

I gave a questioning look to the two, "have you two seen Steve?"

Bruce gulped and Tony thought, "Oh, no... I can't say I have recently."

Bucky, who followed and stood beyond the door, came into sight of the two scientists. He gave a stern look and a nod of disapproval. I turn to the man behind me, who had his arms crossed, then back to the two, "Bucky said he saw him here with you two though."

Bruce turned to Tony as he farted up an excuse, "yeah, he was, but he just passed through. He was looking for you, actually."

I narrowed my eyes at them and took a moment to examine the room. I stepped in and raised a brow, "why are there tools on the floor?"

Tony didn't miss a beat, "oh you know, Bruce here got into a little accident."

Bucky walked in as well and noticed the open window in the room. Bruce was being pushed back by Tony who slapped his back, "you know he can get a little clumsy."

"He _doesn't_ though," I counter and glare from Tony to Bruce. "I _was_ only looking for Steve because he told me he had something important say when I get back after my mission, but now I'm thinking you two are guilty of hiding him." I begin to inch closer with a deathly glare.

_"Hide him?_ Why would we hide him?" Tony blows air out of his mouth.

"Not him, but something you did to him." I say and motion to nothing in particular, "you're little experiment perhaps? He jumped out of the window to get away from you didn't he?"

Bucky knit his brows at the sentiment. He went to the window and stuck his head out to see any trace of his friend. There was none, just a straight and deadly drop down to the pavement. 

Bruce clenched his fists and Tony sighed, _"damn you're good."_

My eyes widened and barked, "what did you do to him?!"

"We gave him steroids," Bruce blurted in guilt. The entire room turned to him and I pulled my head back in utter disbelief, "you gave a beefed up, chemically enhanced super soldier _steroids?"_ I scoffed, "wow, he must need them _desperately,_ huh!?"

"It wasn't steroids!" Tony defends.

Bruce stutters, "We gave him a concoction of hormone and adrenaline enhancing stimulants. We increased his testosterone levels in attempt to- to--" 

_"To what, Bruce!"_

Bucky rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. Bruce mentally debated whether or not he was in the position to expose his friend. It was bad enough he have him a negative result, now did he have to do this too? Tony took over, "to strengthen his resolve! Decrease his anxiety."

I give a skeptical look, _"Strengthen his resolve?"_ I shake my head and raise a hand, "I mean I could get anxiety, but his **resolve**? Really? He is one of the most determined people I know."

Tony waves his hands, "it's much more than that, much bigger. We were testing something that could potentially be the cure for a psychological condition that physically inhibits themselves, like stuttering, anxiety attacks. He voluntarily subjected himself to test this new drug."

I narrowed my eyes at his words, not buying it, "How philanthropic of you, _and so suddenly."_

"Hey!" Tony points, "I've loved humanity for a long time."

I raise my brows at this. Bucky shakes his head and grunts, "that's not the point right now. What we need to be doing is finding Steve."

"Wait, did he actually jump out of the window?" I clarify for the sake of my sound mind. Bruce nods and so does Tony, but the former is in agreement, the latter in disagreement. Bucky groans at the lack of their congruence, "he _had_ to have, because I didn't see him come out of this room."

"Okay! This is how it happened," Bruce bursts out, _"because_ he's a super soldier, we gave him initially low levels of everything, not knowing how it'd affect him. But when nothing worked and it barely affected him, we tried to do the opposite, but since there was a risk it could backfire, we... strapped him down."

"You strapped him down? And still he broke away and jumped out of the window?!"

Tony made a sound, "that's an oversimplification. He momentarily lost his consciousness, grew **massive** eyebrows, and I mean like it looked like eagles, then he started to struggle. When Bruce was trying to make an antidote, that's when he broke his ties and started attacking us. I tried to keep him inside, but then he decided he'd make an exit through the window. Strangely enough by the time I looked out of the window, he was already gone. And it wasn't like I took my time, no, it was instant!"\

"I think he jumped away," Bruce says, "even his super soldier abilities were enhanced."

Taking in what I heard, I wiped my cheek in worry. Bucky clicked his tongue, "this is why he should've just listened to me."

I turned to him an expected him to continue, but instead Tony spoke again, "don't worry, we weren't just worrying about him all this time, I've alerted agents to look for him."

"Agents? But not me?" I jab and scoff, "what's really going on? Why am I in the dark about this and why are you two so defensive about it when what you were doing was for a ' _good cause'."_

Tony hesitates, and surprisingly, Bruce speaks up, "it's because you have a soft-spot for him. We didn't want you to worry."

"And by not telling me sooner I wouldn't?"

I don't receive an answer as Tony receives a call. It was Clint. "Talk to me Barton," Tony says, answering the holographic call.

"Yeah, I found Steve."

We all wait in expectation. "So, where is he?" Tony asks.

"He's at an amusement park."

Bruce's face drops, "is he attacking people?"

"Uh... no... actually, he's winning all the games for some girls... and flirting with them."

Bucky purses his lips to hold in a laugh whereas Bruce and Tony turn to each other.

"What?" I mutter in an attempt to find logic behind the occurrence.

Clint continues, "yeah. It's pretty amusing actually. You guys should come here, asap."

* * *

We make our way to a lively amusement park by the edge of town. It's about almost sunset now. Clint greets us while eating a corn dog. He's leaning on the fence that's by the carousel. We approach him. Clint nods at us, "Took you long enough. You just missed it."

"Missed what?" says Bucky.

"How he switched from wooing the lady at the ice cream stand, to the girl eating the cotton candy," Clint says in amusement. He nods in a direction, and we all turn. I watch as the woman in a blue summer dress giggles at what the large man faced back at us says. She's practically forgotten all about her sugary treat. _That can't be right, it looks nothing like Steve._ I mean, I knew what his silhouette looked like, and his was not matching up. But there wasn't really anyone else eating cotton candy in the vicinity, so that had to be the girl and he had to be Steve.

"Wait, is he seriously wearing a leather jacket?" Tony pulls a face, "where did he even get that?"

I knit my brows, "that's besides the point. He isn't Steve, he looks's nothing--" but when the man turns, my words fall thin. Bucky's eyes widen, "woah, the hell? He looks like a greaser in a motorcycle gang."

"And look at that facial hair! The stubble he grew just makes his brows look more _evil."_ Tony shudders, "Banner, you messed up big time."

" **Me**?!" Bruce snaps, placing a hand on his chest, "you were the one who wanted to quintuple the dosage!"

I grow annoyed as the two argue. Clint however laughs at what he was watching and Bucky raises his brows in disbelief. Steve at this point, had made the woman's jaw drop as well as her cotton candy. The man walked away with knit brows, smirking upon seeing another single lady.

Clint takes a bite of his corn dog, chuckling and turning to his side, _"that's number seven."_

Bucky pulls his lip down in distaste, "no kiddin'."

Bruce growls, "That's not the point!" He heaves and pulls out a vile. "Here," he turns to Bucky, "get him to drink this so he can turn back to normal."

Clint shakes his head, "Noooo! Give it a few hours, maybe it'll wear off."

I shoot him a glare, knowing full well he just found the predicament amusing.

Bucky takes he vile reluctantly and turns to me. He looks back at Bruce, "You said he attacked you, right?" He then turns to the Steve flirting with another woman. "But he seems harmless to me, or at least, he won't attack any of those girls, unless it's with a tacky pickup line."

Clint snorts. Bucky hands me the vile with his metal arm, "I think you should do it."

Tony tilts his head and Bruce shakes his head furiously in protest. I am reluctant. Bruce interrupts, "bad idea. This won't be good."

"Trust me." Bucky says. He points off, "dark hair and buzz cut is still Steve underneath, and there is no way he could do anything to hurt you." He takes my hand and places the bottle, "And if something _does_ happen, there's four of his here, _plus you."_

Tony nods, "I agree with Manchurian candidate."

Bruce relents. I look between them and sigh.

"Hey," I say to _Steve_. The man turns from the woman manning the bumper cars booth then to me. From the railing where he leaned forward, he straightens up, face falling, lips parting. He looks stunned. He takes a moment to reply, "hey."

"You wanna get something to drink?" _"Absolutely,"_ he answers far to quickly.

The woman he was talking to scoffs in offence and shoots me a glare. Steve easily follows after me. I look at the group of men by the carousel and they all give me their individual looks, of encouragement, concern, amusement, and approval. Steve blocks my view, smiling though his brows were knit, "are you a lemonade or a soda kind of girl."

I examine his face and his stance. His shoulders are pushed back, his nose is slightly pointed upward, his hands are behind his back. He is wholly confident, or cocky more accurately. I turn away and turn back with a soft smile, "I can be any girl you like."

The corner of his lips raise and he looks completely satisfied. "You look perfect as you are now. You don't have to change for me." He boldly reaches for my hand and smiles, "I'll choose your lemonade for you then."

I feel my heartbeat pickup. I look between him and out hands. I nod.

He buys blue and pink lemonade. He hands me the blue one. I take it from him and smile, "thank you."

We aimlessly begin to walk around.

"Have you ever seen a real diamond before?" he asks randomly, sipping on his straw.

I turn to him and nod, "yeah."

"Well, you know, diamonds are great reflectors of light; it doesn't actually shine."

I hum.

"You do, however," Steve says, "you shine brightly in my eyes."

My lips part in disbelief, and yet I feel my cheeks burn, "did you honestly just say that?"

"Why?" he chuckles, "did I make you flutter?"

I pull away from him then hand my cup, "hold this for me while I run into the road."

He laughs, throwing his head back. I smile back at him and bask in the sound. Still, I didn't lose my chance to move while he was unaware.

Once he was calm, he turned back to me. "You know, I never told you this, but I find your sarcasm endearing."

My brows raise. It then dawns to me that I had been treating Steve like a whole other person, like we had just met and he didn't know me. I tilt my head slightly, "you do, do you?"

He smiles, "I become a stuttering fool when I'm around you. My mind is racing with a thousand words I want to say and yet my mouth is dry."

I knit my brows, debating the truth of his words. I sigh, "I bet you said that to all the girls."

His hand finds mine again. He knits his brows and shakes his head, "there only one girl I could possibly tell that to."

I hear my pulse in my ears and my palms go sweaty. I pull away from him and shift awkwardly. Steve chuckles lightly and drinks his lemonade. I look up at him cautiously. I wait for the effects of the concoction to kick in.

For a moment, I inwardly panic, seeing as he was still fine and level headed.

I tense when he calls my name. He blinks, "there's something I've been needing to tell you for a long time." He turns to his cup then back to me, "I like you so much, so much that I want to burst. Whenever I think of you, I feel like my stomach is swirling with a thousand emotions." 

He begins to shut his eyes tightly and topples back. Steve nearly spills all of his drink on him as he looses his balance. Concerned, I take his drink from him and ask, "are you feeling lightheaded?"

He fakes a smile and waves his hand, "I have more things to say."

But he doesn't, because he's tipping backwards. His large figure doesn't drop however, as Bucky shoots in and catches him.

* * *

The next day, Steve wakes up with a horrible headache. It baffles him. _Have I been drinking? Why?!_

When he sees however that he's in a hospital bed, his mind goes blank. He looks around and sees something that makes him frown. He sits up and clenches his jaw.

I stir from where I sit and wake up with a groan. I feel my sleep fade in an instant upon seeing Steve awake from where he laid. He offers a guilty look and I offer back a smile, "Good morning, cap. How are you feeling?"

He raises knit brows and sighs, "Why am I in a hospital bed?" He places a hand on his jaw, _did I just this much stubble over night?_

I purse my lips, "you were tested on yesterday, and it made you into this... _overly masculine womanizer persona."_

Steve gives a face of horror as suddenly a stream of memories come flashing back to him.

The monitor taking his heart beat quickened. I straighten up in concern and grab his hand, "hey." Steve freezes, looking at our joined hands. I give him a soft look, "it wasn't your fault."

Steve is silent for a moment, he knows it isnt. But that isn't the main reason why he's freaking out. He knew he flirted with a lot of women yesterday, and then shut them out as quickly, but there was a lingering scene in his mind. He gulps, "I said something to you yesterday, didn't I?

"Hmm?" I am caught of guard. _This is the part were he apologises and takes it back..._ I sigh, "well, yeah."

"I-I'm sorry it--" "It's fine Steve. I get it, you weren't in your right mind."

Steve takes my hand in both of his and squeezes, "No... that's not it. I- I remember everything... and I... I'm sorry I had to say it that way, but I meant every word."

"You- you _what?"_

He sighs, "I know I acted like a big jerk and reeled all those women in, but... what I told them, I wanted to tell you."

I was at a loss for words. 

"I know it was unforgivable and totally such a garbage thing to do, but... well... I can't really defend myself, can I?" He turns away and pulls his hands off. "I- I'm so sorry that it turned out like this... but I thought I should let you know." Our eyes meet and he inhales deeply, "I do really, _really_ like you. I... I just never found the guts to spit it out. Bucky told me to just go for it, but I just couldn't. And like a dummy, I asked for something to help me from Bruce. But I ended up just corrupting myself," he hisses, "I of all people should know what these things can do to people."

There is only silence between us. I frown at his expression, "Steve..."

He looks up at me. My frown curves the opposite way, "I really like you too."

He looks dumbfounded.

"I can't believe you were so scared of me that you had to resort to doing that."

Steve shifts from where he sits and disagrees. He raises his hands, "Wh- I'm not scared of you."

I break into a giggle. He watches me and relaxes, letting out a chuckle.

"I'm glad you finally got this out of your system."

Steve smiles softly.

"But next time something's on your mind, don't ever drink that bewitching potion again." I then raise a fist at him, "and don't practice flirting with me on other girls."

He breaks into a laugh. He nods, "yes ma'am."


End file.
